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Monday, January 17, 2011

DIY Activity Board

My sweet husband made this fun activity board for James...

This is something anyone can make! Keep in mind we are not carpenters, we have very limited access to wood and no fancy tools. Nope, just the bare basics were used to create this - a piece of scrap wood, a hand saw, some sandpaper, and a drill. Oh and a variety of hardware (i.e. nails, screws, etc.).

James loves this board and using the real tools to work the screws and nails. Of course we watch him while he plays with this and he wears protective eye wear the entire time.

Awesome!! I was just discussing (last night) with my hubby that I wanted him to build a tool activity table for our son with nails, screws, hindges, and such...you post will now give me something visual to show him in line with what I was dreaming of....cool!

Love this idea! I've resisted buying my boys pretend tools because I believe the real thing is a much better use of my money and certainly something they could use. For someone with a younger child wanting to hammer, using golf tees in styrofoam also works, or roofing nails in layers of corrugated cardboard glued together for a bit more of a challenge (if you don't have access to wood). I'm planning on setting up a stump in the yard this summer and letting my two boys fill it full of nails. Love the idea of different tools and activities in one spot! Thanks for sharing!

@Robyn: I would LOVE to find a stump for the same purpose as you mentioned. I saw the very thing on My Montessori Journey and it just looks like so much fun.

@Nicole: At first James' "protective eye wear" was just mommy's sunglasses! LOL But they served the purpose only slightly as they kept falling off. His own sunglasses didn't cover enough eye-space as I'd like. SO I found these to use instead: http://www.montessoriservices.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4423_111_136_3043. I've since linked back to them in my post.